Stayner Feed Service recognizes the importance of small flock poultry production.  Shur-Gain Small Flock Poultry Rations are carefully formulated and tested to ensure top performance and value.  Over fifty years of research and experience have resulted in a practical Small Flock Poultry Program.

We have designed this page to provide:  

1. Simple, step by step instructions that Shur-Gain recommends for successfully starting and growing your small flock poultry program.
2. Information on our Small Flock Poultry Feeds.
3. Information on helpful Small Flock Poultry Equipment.

How to start and care for your Chicks, Poults (young turkeys) and Layer Pullets.

The following are instructions that Shur-Gain recommendes for starting and growing meat type poultry and pullets (young layers) successfully.

         What you need to start:

• 1 water fountain of 5 litre capacity for every 25 chicks or poults
• feeders - 1 metre of feeder space per 75 chicks or poults
• Heat lamps
• Litter (bedding) - wood shavings, chopped straw, sawdust or peat moss are best.

          Starting:

1. At least 2 days before the chicks or poults arrive, clean the floor and walls of the pen with heavy duty cleaner and disinfect for general sanitation (see directions on containers).
2. Spread the litter 7 cm thick throughout the pen.  It is a good practice to fill the waterers before the poultry arrive so the water will be at room temperature.  Stress-Lyte should be added to the drinking water for the first 5 days to aid the chicks and poults through the stress of brooding.
3. Confine the chicks or poults to a circular brooding area.  This will prevent the birds from huddling and smothering each other.
4. Start the poultry in a warm pen.  The temprerature should be 30-32 degrees celcius at chick level for the first week.  Use a heat lamp 50 cm above the chicks or poults.  Decrease the temperature 3 degrees celcius per week until the chicks are feathered.  After that, ensure that the temperature does not drop below 13 degrees celcius.  Adjust the temperature by raising the lamps.
5. Use our Homestead starting feed that is recommended lower on the page for the type of poultry being grown.  It is a good practice to provide additional egg trays to make it easy for the young birds to locate feed and begin eating. 
6. Provide 2.5 metres squared of area per 100 chicks or poults.  Begin to increase the area by moving the chick guard after one week.  If the birds crowd to one side of the pen, there is a draft.  If the birds are huddled all along the chick guard, the pen is too hot, so raise the heat lamps.  If the birds are huddled below the heat lamps, the brooding area is too cold, so lower the heat lamps slightly or add more lamps.  Ideally, the chicks or poults should be spread evenly throughout the pen.
7. Coccidiosis is a parasitic disease that is common to poultry.  The mortality resulting from an outbreak of coccidiosis can approach 90% in a young flock, so it is strongly recommended that starter birds receive a feed containing an anticoccideal medication.  Homestead poultry starting feeds are medicated to prevent coccidiosis.  Birds will develop a natural immunity to coccidiosis, so after 10 weeks the use of medicated feeds may be discontinued.  If you experience sudden mortality that cannot be explained after examining your management practices, we suggest that you contact your veterinarian or the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, who have several poultry pathologists available.

Now that your poultry operation is set up it is now time to adress the nutritional needs of your specific type of poultry.  Please click on the type of poultry you are raising below to adress your birds feeding requirements.

	Homestead Chicken Broilers and Roasters Complete Feeding Program This program is effective for feeding Chicken Broilers and Roasters to the desired weight. No Price
	Homestead Pullet to Layer Program Husbantry and Nutritional advice on achieving a successful layer program. No Price
	Homestead Turkey Program The optimal Small Flock turkey feeding program for gains and quality of meat. No Price
	Homestead Duck and Geese Program No Price

Stayner Feed Service carry's a full line of poultry feeders and waterers to suit any size small flock poultry operation.